The Path to Change the Heart of Darkness
by alantyler8
Summary: Yami finds that her heart changes while protecting and helping her friends. While meeting a newcomer and drawing closer to him, Yami learns more about herself and comes to terms with that she may like Rito. (Violence)
1. Prologue

Prologue: Hunting a Murderer

There was never a body, just an empty casket surrounded by grief-stricken friends and relatives. _That makes seven victims now, _Yami thinks to herself while watching as the funeral procession makes its way down the street to the cemetery. Standing on the rooftop, Yami looks out at the city. _I have to stop this killer because I__ can't let this murderer have the chance to threaten my friends. _A smile flickers across Yami's face as she thinks of her friend, Mikan. Worrying about her friends, Yami reviews all she knows about the murders in her head. _Without a body, I can't distinguish how the people were killed, but there's no question that each victim no longer living, the amount of blood at the scene of each murder can testify to that. Still, I need to find a way to identify the killer before him or her or whatever it is kills again. _Yami sighs and decides the best course of action for today. _Well, the only thing I can do right now is go back to scanning the crowds below for suspicious people. _Now filled with conviction and worry, Yami returns to watching the people walking on the streets below from her rooftop lookout.


	2. Chapter 1: Meeting Darkness

Chapter 1: Meeting Darkness

Rich walks down the street of the Japanese city, thinking about how different Japan is from California._ This city is nothing like Los Angeles, but I think I like it. The change of scenery is really refreshing. _Rich turns his head up to look at the height of the buildings. "Wow, that's tall." Realizing that he thought aloud, Rich looks around to see if anyone noticed him speaking to himself. _Phew, I've got to stop saying my thoughts without thinking them through, that's a habit that'll get me into trouble one day. _Noticing a bench in front of a clothing store, Rich decides to sit down and observe all the daily commotion of city life. Looking at the top of the moderately high building front of him, he noticed a short blonde-haired girl standing on the roof. Puzzled, Rich contemplates why a girl would stand on a rooftop.

_What is that girl doing up there? More importantly, how did she get up there? I don't think building owners just allow pedestrians to walk on their building's roof. _As Rich stares up at her, he notices that she seems to be moving her head side to side as if she's searching for something. As he watches she turns her head for another sweep with her eyes and stops midway. _Hmm, why did she stop looking? Did she find what she's looking for? _Rich ponders about the curious looking girl, only stopping to gaze at her to rub his eyes. When he looks back at the building roof, the girl is gone. _Where'd she go? Oh well, I should continue on my way, I don't want to be home late. _

Rich gets up off the bench and takes one step away from it when he hears a voice from behind him saying, "Why were you staring at me?" Puzzled, Rich turns around to address the person talking to him. In front of him is a young looking girl with a short stature wearing a black outfit that compliments her figure. Thinking about how cute the person before him is, Rich realizes she looks just like the girl who was just on the roof. _Wait… she has blonde hair just like… surely, it can't be…. _Interrupting his thoughts, the girl in front Rich says, "I'll ask you on more time, why were you staring at me?" Rich, now dumbfounded, responds, "Were… Weren't you on the roof? How'd you get here?" The girl stands there staring at him, seeming to be looking him over. _This is weird, how did she get off that roof and here so fast? She's just staring at me which makes me feel nervous._ Rich stands in front of the girl lost in thought."Since you're obviously lacking in intelligent thought, I won't hold that against you. Just don't look at things you shouldn't see again," the girl exclaims to Rich, then turns and begins to walk away.

"Umm… Wait!" Rich blurted as he walked forward to her, "I don't know who you are or how you got off the building roof to me so fast or what you think I did, but I didn't mean to offend you. I'm sorry…" the girl turns to face Rich as he continues to speak, "…I'd like to make it up to you over coffee or something, if you'd like. It's not everyday something extraordinary happens." Tensing up slightly, the girl looks at Rich. "No thank you", she says expressionlessly. Rich, feeling relieved that she said no since he had little money, but too curious to let her just leave without getting to know something about her, asks, "May I at least have your name?" _I'm surely pushing my luck, _Rich thinks while dreading the idea that this girl may leave without him having any answers. Rich waits for her response to his question. Looking at him she says, "I don't have a name." The girl's first response disappoints Rich as he thinks that she just doesn't want to give him her name so she lied. _Well, that's rude. If she doesn't feel comfortable with giving me her name she didn't have to create such a stupid lie. _"…but, you may call me Yami," she explains to Rich.

Relieved that Yami told him her nickname, Rich thought about questioning her on why she said she didn't have a name, but decided to let it go. _Yami…_ Rich thought about her name and speaking his thoughts aloud stated, "That's a cute name." A hint of red hits Yami's cheeks as they stand facing each other. Rich, realizing that he spoke his mind, fidgets from embarrassment until he realizes he hasn't introduced himself yet. "I'm Rich," he said as he sticks out his hand to Yami offering a friendly handshake. Yami, looking at his outstretched hand in confusion asks, "What are you sticking your hand out for?" Yami, continuing to speak, looking very annoyed with Rich says, "I don't care about your status of wealth, but aren't you going to give me your name?" Laughing, Rich corrects Yami's confusion. "No, Rich is my name," explained a very amused Rich. "Aren't you going to shake my hand?" Rich questions. Yami grabs the boy's hand by the wrist and shakes it about and stops. Bewildered after witnessing the weirdest handshake he's ever seen, Rich decides he should head back to the hotel soon, but tries to think of something to discuss with Yami for the time being.

Yami, studying Rich's actions in order to ascertain his character, decides to ask her first question again. "So, why were you staring at me while I was on the roof? Were you trying to look up my outfit?" Glaring as she waited for Rich's response she listened carefully for any deceit as he explained himself. "What? No. No. I was just watching to see what you were doing, honestly," exclaimed Rich. Relaxing now Yami responded, "Well, then I see no reason to punch you since you weren't looking." _Punch me,_ Rich pondered, _she doesn't look like a fighter. _"Well, okay then. It was nice to meet you Yami, but I really must be going now," said Rich. "Okay, Bye Rich," said Yami unfazed as she walks over to the bench, pulls out a book, and begins to read.

Rich turns to walk home and as he looks up before him, he sees a very distressed person on a skateboard coming right at him. "Watch out dude," the guy yells at Rich, but it's too late as seconds later he crashes into Rich. Flying through the air, Rich's thoughts race through his mind. _This is going to hurt. _"Rich," says Yami as she lifts up her head from the book she was reading just in time to see the boy she just met hit the ground head first. The guy on the skateboard having fallen as well gets up and gets his skateboard and skates off without care. Darkness envelops Rich's mind as he blacks out.


	3. Chapter 2: Friends Hangout

Chapter 2: Friends Hangout

"Rich," says Yami as she looks at Rich's unmoving body. _Why didn't he move out of the skater's path, _Yami thinks as she puts her book away. _Why isn't he getting up like Yuuki Rito usually does after I punch him, _Yami ponders. After getting up and walking over to the unmoving boy's body in front of her, Yami thinks about what to do now._ That skater must have hit Rich hard for him to not wake up; speaking of the skater, where is that reckless person anyway? _Yami looks around for a sign of the skater. _Hmm, I guess he ran off. Well, I can't leave a person I just met laying here on the sidewalk. _Picking Rich off the ground, Yami starts to walk to the nearest place for the sleeping boy to stay until he comes to. _I_ _better take him to Mikan's house since it's close, that way I can talk to my friend about today. _A slight smile spreads across Yami's face as she thinks about all the things she's done with Mikan. _Maybe I can help Mikan cook or clean, _Yami ponders. _Besides, I must tell her to not go shopping or out at night for a while or until the murderer is caught. _Letting out a sigh, Yami transforms to give herself wings and begins her short flight to Mikan's with her newly met acquaintance in tow.

Meanwhile, Mikan was thinking about what to do for dinner after Rito and Lala comeback with the groceries. _Rito and Lala better hurry up if they want dinner tonight. I wonder what Yami's doing right now. _Mikan smiles as she thinks of her quiet blonde friend. Sitting on the couch Yami turns on the TV. "…makes the total count of seven victims. The police have yet to find any leads," the news reporter announces on TV. Click, Mikan changes the channel trying to find something interesting to watch during her moment of relaxation from the busy life of managing the Yuuki household. _One thing is for sure,_ Mikan thinks, _with Lala and her sisters here, things have surely been a lot more lively. _Ding-Dong, the doorbell rings and Mikan sighs, and heads to the front door.

_That can't be Rito and Lala; they would've just walked in, _Mikan thinks as she opens the door to greet the unexpected guests.

"Hello Mikan. May I come in?" says Yami as she stands there holding a sleeping boy. "YAMI, come in! Come in," blurts an excited Mikan. Yami walks in and looks at Mikan and says, "I met this guy and he got knocked out by some guy on a skateboard and hasn't woken up yet, may I put him down somewhere? "Yes, here," says Mikan as she lays a blanket on the floor for Rich. Now free from carrying Rich, Yami sits on the couch with Mikan and the two friends begin to discuss about how each other's day went. _I'm so glad I get to hang with Yami,_ thinks Mikan. Yami's face, now bearing a serious expression confronts Mikan with thoughts that are weighing on her heart. "Mikan, I don't want you to go out of the house as much as possible for some time," says Yami earnestly. _Yami doesn't want me to go out; it must be because of those murders that announcer was talking about on the news, _Mikan thinks; _Yami's looking out for me because she cares. _Smiling, Mikan responds, "Okay Yami! I'm glad you came to visit me today!" "Ughhh… what a headache," Rich says as he wakes up making the two friends look his way. Confused, Rich looks at the two girls and asks, "Umm…Who am I?"

Both girls turn to look each other in the eyes, knowing that life just became a little more complicated.


	4. Chapter 3:Waking up in a House of Chaos

Disclaimer: I don't own To Love Ru or have an affiliation with its makers. This story is for

Fan-based entertainment purposes only.

Note: Some scenes are mentally graphic in violence

Chapter 3: Waking up in a House of Chaos

Yami, while sitting on the couch, looks at the brown haired guy sitting on the floor and wonders about the guy's character. To put her mind at ease, Yami asks, "What exactly do you remember Rich?"

Not knowing how to exactly answer Yami's question, but thankful that she told him his name, Rich replies, "Well, I remember certain memories, but there's like this haze in my mind that I can't get beyond. It's kind of like TV static."

Thoughts flow through Yami's head, _because Rich never got the chance to explain in detail about his life to Yami, everything about him was a mystery to her. Now it seems that, Rich's life is a mystery to himself as well. _

Mikan, not sure what to make of this situation, turns to face Yami and says, "Well, What should we do Yami?"

"I don't know Mikan, maybe if I hit him on the head again he'll gain his memory back," states Yami as she transforms her hair into a fist.

Rich quickly blurts, "Wait! Wait… don't hit me! I don't need my headache to get worse."

Rich stares at her hair-fist, ponders for a moment and then asks, "How do you turn your hair into a fist?"

"It's just something the people who made me cursed me with, so don't worry about it. If you're not satisfied with that answer then just know that I'm not from Earth and leave it at that," replies Yami.

"Well, I feel a little awkward with you two knowing my name and I not knowing yours," says Rich, unfazed by the fact that Yami was not from Earth, since he had forgotten that meeting an alien was not normal.

"I'm Mikan and this is my friend Yami," Mikan says to address his question. Mikan continues on to say, "I think you'll have to stay here until you can remember anything that can help us find your home. For now though, why don't you help me and Yami make dinner when my brother and Lala come back. Lala may be able to help you regain your lost memories with one of her inventions, since she's not from Earth either."

Listening to what Mikan said, Rich agrees to help with dinner.

Yami thinks, _at least this boy hasn't done anything perverted yet. If he does I'll give him a good punch, memory or no memory. _

At that moment, Rito and Lala walk into the house through the front door. Rito carries bags of groceries as Yami, Rich and Mikan follow him into the kitchen to begin cooking dinner.

"Here you go Mikan," says Rito as he hands her items from the bag. Rito freezes as he then notices that the Golden Darkness is standing in his kitchen along with a strange guy. Stuttering from nervousness, Rito asks, "Yami! What are you doing here?"

Staring at Rito with expressionless eyes, Yami replies, "Yuuki Rito, you're my target. Do you really need to ask why I'm here?"

Lala jumps excitedly, her tail curling up, as she says, "Yami-chan! I'm glad you came to visit."

"I hope I'm not intruding princess," says Yami while getting items that Mikan asks for with her hair to hand transformations.

"Not at all, Yami-chan," says Lala, assuring Yami that she's glad that Yami decided to come over.

Rito, now over his initial uneasiness, turns to face Rich, says, "Hello, I'm Yuuki Rito, what's your name?"

Rich softly chuckles at the irony of the question being asked of him. After gaining control of the urge to laugh, Rich replies, "Well, I seem to have forgotten the answer to your question, but Yami says that my name is Rich. Since I have no reason to not trust Yami, I can conclude that the answer to your question is that my name is Rich and it is very nice to meet you, Rito. You must be Mikan's older brother."

Rito, pondering the reason for Rich to give him such an unusually long response to a simple question, replies, "It's nice to meet you too, Rich. Yes, I am her brother."

Lala, the cheerful princess of Deviluke, quickly comes up to Rich and says, "Hi Rich! I'm Lala, and Rito is the person I love!" Lala hugs Rito's arm playfully, pulling his arm against her body as Rito's face turns bright red.

Rito quickly exclaims, "Lala! Don't hug so tight!"

After Lala loosens her hug, Rito asks, "So, Rich are you a friend of Yami's?"

"I'd consider Yami as my friend, after all, if she wasn't worthy of being a friend, she wouldn't care about my memory," says Rich. Rich then explains to Lala and Rito that he can't remember much about himself and all that Yami had told him about how he lost his memory.

While listening to Rich explain his story, Rito wonders about Yami's social life.

Rito thinks, _who would've thought that Yami would make other friends besides Mikan? _

After becoming acquainted with Rito and Lala, Rich returns to his kitchen duties. In no time at all, dinner was ready. Everyone sat down around the dinner table and began to eat, thoroughly enjoying dinner. Well, almost everyone enjoyed their dinner; Rito's dish was prepared by Yami, who thought it was a good idea to use taiyaki as the main dish for his meal. After everyone finished eating, Rich requested that Lala make an invention to bring his memory back, to which Lala happily agreed to do.

"Lala loves making new inventions as well as testing her inventions," explained Rito. Rich washed all the dirty plates after everyone was done eating. Yami then dried the plates and put them away. Once everyone was back in the living room, Mikan decided the sleeping arrangements for the night; Rich and Rito were to share Rito's room, Yami and Mikan were to share Mikan's room, and Lala would sleep in her room by herself since the twins had gone to a distant planet for a short botany trip. After everybody took care of their nightly routines, the people in the Yuuki household were soon in their beds. Rich was not able to relax his mind enough to fall asleep, so he decided to ask Rito a few questions.

Looking up from his makeshift mattress on the floor, Rich looks at Rito and asks, "Hey Rito, what's with this target business between you and Yami?"

Rito answers Rich's question, explaining that Yami was an assassin, which was tasked with killing him. Rito explained that after Yami had a fiasco with her contractor, she decided to not kill him, even though she had never left any contract unfinished. Rito explained that Yami had decided to remain on Earth, until she could figure out what to do about him.

"Hmm… is that so? She still views you as her target then," says Rich after listening to Rito's response. Rich, rubbing his head, then proclaims, "Well Rito, I'll talk to her for you, okay? I can tell just from talking to you that you're not anything like the guy she was told to kill."

"Good luck with that Rich, and goodnight," says the very tired Rito. Rito soon closes his eyes and in a few minutes, is fast asleep.

Despite the makeshift mattress being very comfortable, Rich still couldn't seem to fall asleep. Frustrated with his inability to rest, Rich quietly gets up and goes downstairs into the kitchen.

_I have to be quiet so I don't wake anyone up; _Rich thinks to himself as he turns on the kitchen sink and fills a glass cup with water. Quenching his thirst, Rich enjoys the refreshing drink of water.

Behind Rich, a voice says, "So you can't sleep either?"

Rich jumps at the sudden noise and quickly turns around to see the owner of the voice. In the dark, Rich stubs his toe on the bottom of the cabinet, causing him to spill water all over himself and the floor. Embarrassed, Rich looks up to look into the eyes of Yami. Yami is smiling, very amused at the spectacle that she had just witnessed. Seeing Yami's smile lightens Rich's mood and he laughs at himself.

"I'm glad I could do my part to entertain the fair maiden," Rich says, bowing before Yami like a comical actor. Taking a hand towel, Rich quickly wipes the floor to prevent anyone from tripping.

Yami's cheeks redden for a brief moment and then she replies, "I'm just an assassin, nothing more."

"That's where you're wrong Yami. You are more than your occupation and your decisions," argues Rich.

Yami ponders on his statement for a moment and takes his words to heart. Yami then decides to listens to what Rich has to say instead of going back to her room.

Rich explains, "Anyways, I'm glad I ran into you tonight. I want to talk to you about Rito."

Mixed feelings and thoughts flow into Yami's head as soon as she hears her target's name. Yami thinks to herself, _why would Rich want to talk about Yuuki Rito? _

Rich asks, "Why do you seek his life?"

Yami replies, "What do you mean by that Rich? I accepted a contract to kill him."

Rich replies, "Didn't your client lie to you about your target, so isn't Yuuki Rito not the person specified in the contract?"

Rich says, "You obviously have a heart and a mind of your own will, because you've chosen to not kill him thus far. So why don't you stop targeting him?"

Angered by Rich's sudden interest in areas of her life that he shouldn't stick his nose into, Yami replies, "You don't know anything about my life, so drop this subject, before I consider you a target as well!"

Not wanting to anger Yami further, Rich says, "Okay, I'm sorry for prying. Anyways, why are you up this late at night?"

Rich watches as Yami's expression become more serious.

"Well, lately there have been murders in the city, and I'm worried that there will be another one tonight, but I have no idea where the murder will occur. So, I can't stop it," Yami says, as she calms down thinking about her current situation involving the murders. _I hope no one close to me is in danger tonight, _the blonde-haired girl thinks as she looks out the window at the starry sky.

Seeing the seriousness in Yami's expression, Rich proclaims, "Well, let's both get some sleep Yami, and I'll do anything I can to help you get this killer."

Yami thinks Rich's statement over; _I just met this guy and he's already offering his assistance, he's definitely not a normal guy. Anyways, Rich is right; I can't catch a killer if I'm not at my best. _

"Goodnight Rich," Yami says, as then she scurries off to Mikan's room. After watching her go, Rich goes into the living room, sits on the sofa, leans back and reflects on the events of today. Well, he reflects on the events that he remembers at least. Rich is soon asleep, snoring softly on the couch.

Meanwhile….

As the rest of the world sleeps, Oshizu, the ghost of a girl who has been dead for 400 years, walks around the schoolyard in her prosthetic body that Nurse Mikado loaned her…

Oshizu looks around for someone, she was sure she had just heard a person moving around by the burned school building a few minutes ago.

Oshizu thinks to herself, _I was sure someone was here. I guess whoever it was, is gone now. _

Oshizu grimaces in fear, as the thought that the noise could've been made by a dog races through her mind. Thinking of how scary dogs are, Oshizu walks faster out of fear. Her own clumsy loud footsteps mask the sound of rustling behind her. "It's so spooky right now," Oshizu mutters aloud.

Suddenly, a voice that sounds like rocks and twigs in a blender growls, "Flee…esshhhh to fea..sttt on," right behind Oshizu. Freezing in terror, Oshizu begins to turn around to face the owner of the voice. Faster than she could turn, a blade made out of bone attached to a mutilated looking appendage, shoots out from the dark and slices off the head of Oshizu's prosthetic body. Blood sprays out of the headless body and onto the ground of the schoolyard. Oshizu, now disconnected from her severed body, watches in horror as a monstrous mound of mutilated flesh moves out of the shadows and consumes the pieces of the her body. She sees the monster absorb her body by picking the pieces and pulling it into its flesh. As she watches, the monstrosity finishes its absorption of her body and then grows more limbs. The limbs shoot out of the main mass and resemble hideous ugly tentacles. Oshizu thinks to herself, _it can't hurt me, since it can't eat ghosts, but I need to warn my friends! _The ugly mound of what can best be described as a collection of bodies formed into one creature, stares at Oshizu with its eyes. "I…I wi..lllll ha…veee the strooo…nnngessttt bo..dyyy sooo..oonn," says the creature. The beast then turns and leaves the scene, to hide from the light of day. Soon, all that remains of the gruesome scene is a traumatized Oshizu, hovering in shock, and a schoolyard stained in blood.


	5. 4:Memory Fiascos call for Doctor Visits

Disclaimer: I don't own To Love Ru or have an affiliation with its makers. This story is for

Fan-based entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 4: Memory Fiascos call for Doctor Visits

Daylight pours into the Yuuki household from the windows, signaling the start of a new day. By 9 o'clock, everyone but Rich in the house was awake. Rich was sleeping soundly on the couch.

"Gagggheekkk uugghheeeekkk, Banana Aliens," muttered Rich in his sleep as Mikan walked by with a cleaning brush.

Mikan thought to herself, _really now, Rich is a totally dork! Well at least he's not dreaming about marshmallows. Well, back to cleaning for me._

A few minutes after Mikan left the couch sleeper, Rich is woken up by a very excited Lala.

Lala says, "Rich! Wake up! RICH! Maybe, I should use one of my inventions to wake him up?" Lala ponders for a moment and puts her finger on her chin, while thinking of a way to wake the couch potato up faster.

Rich opens his eyes slowly and looks up to see the long pink-haired, black tailed, high pitched, Princess Lala smiling cheerfully at him.  
"What is it, Lala," asks Rich as his body struggles to wake up as fast as his mind.

"She finished her memory returning invention for you," exclaims a voice on the right side of Rich's. Looking to his right, Rich concludes that the voice belongs to none other than Yami.

Rich thinks to himself, _Yami and Lala both wake up too early; it's not even 1:00 in the afternoon yet… ugh, wait. I feel like I should be excited for something… OH, Yea! They just said the invention that will restore my memory is ready. How could I forget that?! HAHA, I forgot about a device to help me remember._

Rich lets out a laugh and smiles excitedly. Thinking about what it could be like to remember everything he forgot, Rich replies, "So, do you guys want to test it now?"

Lala exclaims, "Yes! Hold it and push the red button!"

Yami says, "The sooner you regain your memories the better."

Lala hands Rich the blue and silver spherical device. Looking inquisitively at it for a few seconds, Rich then presses the red button and the device begins to flashes a display of device priming lights.

"It's working perfectly," Lala says proudly with a big smile on her face. Just a few seconds after she said that the device was working perfectly, sparks begin to shoot out of the sphere.

"Oops, that's not supposed to happen," says Lala with a concerned expression as she taps her finger on the side of her head.

Rich looks down at the machine in his hands, which is most likely to explode. The device began to get too hot to touch and to make matters worse, smoke started to come out of the sphere. Rich decides to drop the device and run for it with the girls, but never gets the chance. The spherical device abruptly emits a green bubble-like field of light that encases three of them. Rich notices that the sparks coming out of the device are increasing in size and is about to say something to the about to say something to the two girls when, ZAAAAPPPPPPZZZZZZ… An electric current discharged through the three of them in a brilliant flash of light. Yami, Lala and Rich all fall to the ground, passed out in shock, from a shock.

_Yes, I'm going to get my memory back,_ thought Rich as a warm sensation begins to embrace his mind as memories begin to flood into his head, but instead of finding the memories that he was searching for, memories of Yami's life and Lala's life permeate Rich's mind. His mind struggles to interpret too much information at one time. So, in order to manage the vast wealth of memories invading his brain, Rich interprets the memories as if they were movies in a movie theater. The thought of how embarrassed the girls will be when he wakes up shoots through Rich's overloaded mind as he records every memory of Lala and Yami.

While Rich does his best to control himself as he sees memories of the girls in the bath, Lala and Yami are recording all the memories of Rich and of each other in their minds.

An hour later, Lala, Yami and Rich wake up to find, that Rito and Mikan had been concerned when they'd found the three of them on the floor out cold.

"Don't scare us like that! I was thinking about calling Mikado-Sensei if you guys didn't wake up after two hours," exclaimed Rito.

"I'm glad you're okay Yami," said Mikan as she wrapped her arms around Yami and hugged her.

"Rito! You were worried about me," yells Lala as she jumps and hugs Rito tightly crushing her breasts in between them.

Rito's face turns deep red as he says, "Lala! Don't hug me so tight! Let go! Aaahhhhhhh."

Yami, with her blank red eyes looks at the perverted scene in front of her, says, "Yuuki Rito. You're a pervert."

Rito, finally escaping Lala's hug, begins to launch a protest, but doesn't get the chance to say anything when Rich says, "We need to talk."

Rito points at himself in confusion and scratches his head.

"No Rito. I talking about Yami and Lala," proclaims Rich as he gives Rito the "you're a complete buffoon look."

"Agreed," say Yami and Lala in unison.

Rich then turns and addresses Mikan and Rito.

"Please excuse us. We won't be long, but this is very personal to all of us. So, we'd appreciate it, if you'd two wait here until we finish talking," says Rich.

Rito and Mikan both nod their heads in agreement, even though they didn't understand exactly why Rich, Lala, and Yami were all flustered.

"Thank you for understanding," says Rich as Lala and Yami begin heading up the stairs. Rich quickly follows after the two girls. Lala decides to lead the trio to her room and closes the door as soon as we were all inside. Going to the middle of the room, the group sits on the floor pillow mats.

Rich looks at the girls and notices a slight hint of embarrassment on the two of them.

"Well, I believe we are each feeling that our privacy was violated," explains Rich as he opens the conversation.

"So, to calm your nerves, I swear to you both, that I will never reveal anything about your pasts to anyone," proclaims Rich.

A few quick thoughts flicker through Yami's mind; _that certainly was a bold move, but though I don't know if I can trust you, that did make it easier to think. Hmm, it's like when Yuuki first met the princess and fought for her. No, No. Yuuki Rito is my target, and I can't let someone else's memory affect my judgment. I'm an assassin, so… well, I just can't let them influence me… can I? I'm disturbed that these two people know everything about my past. Rich, you better not remember a time I was naked. I hate perverts. Well, I better confront Rich on his statement._

Looking at Rich, Yami says, "How do I know you'll keep your word Rich. Cause if you…"

Interrupting Yami midsentence, Rich responds, "Well, You can kill me if I do."

Yami is taken aback by Rich's brazen answer. She was going to tell him that she would kill him, if he told anyone about her past. Yami never had anyone, whom had no chance of win against her in a fight, calmly accept death before. Intrigued, Yami looks into his dark brown eyes for a hint of deceit, but finds none. Instead, she finds his eyes to be warm, soft and yet fiercely determined. Lost in thought, Yami continues to look into his eyes unintentionally for some time.

Lala was quiet ever since they had arrived in her room, which was unusual for her. Rich is about to address Lala with a question when she abruptly says, "I trust you, Yami, with my past and secrets. Yami, if you believe that you can trust your friend Rich, then I'll trust him too. We can't mention this to my father though. Some of my memories are about things that only the Deviluke royal family should know."

"I trust him," says Yami, still gazing into Rich's eyes. Yami's mind drifts to the conversation she had with him last night. Yami knows that she can't say that he doesn't know what she has been through.

Yami's mind drifts off to entertain a few thoughts; _He knows everything that I've been through, because he has all my memories now. I feel so vulnerable and open. Why do I keep thinking about memories that Lala and Rich had with their fathers? Hmm… I guess I never really had a father. Rich's eyes are warm inside; like one of Mom's hugs, but different… Well, I guess she technically wasn't my Mom, but that's how I see her. I miss her, but I don't have any need for feelings like that, I'm just a weapon. That's what my mind says, but I don't feel like just a weapon. Rich said that I'm more than a weapon too. I think I want to talk to him alone about a few things, and well, I guess I could ask him how he thinks I should view Yuuki Rito, since I blew him off last night._

"So, we're all in agreement to keep each other's past a secret," states Rich as he looks at both Yami and Lala.

"Yes," says Lala as her mind drifts to think about Rito.

"Yes, Rich," says Yami while her mind drifts on what to do about how she should view Yuuki Rito.

Smiling, Rich says, "Well…Then let's hurry up so we can all enjoy the rest of the today. Besides, Rito and Mikan are waiting downstairs for us."

Lala, now most definitely feeling closer to Yami and Rich, decides to announce that she's going to go downstairs. Lala then stands up quickly and walks out of her room, quickly going downstairs and explain the situation to Rito and Mikan, without violating anyone's privacy.

Seeing how fast Lala left, Rich stands up from sitting on floor pillows and begins to leave the room, but is stopped by Yami grabbing his shirt sleeve.

Yami says, "Rich, you know just as much about me as I do right now."

Rich listens to Yami, as she continues on, saying, "Well, I was wondering."

Yami is now looking directly into Rich's eyes, trying to read his thoughts as she asks, "How should I view Yuuki Rito?"

Rich smiles while looking at Yami. With a soft expression on his face, Rich puts thought in how to respond to her question.

Rich explains, "Yami. Rito is a very kind, clumsy and weak boy. He's obviously not a person that would condone or contribute to malicious actions. If he wasn't so kind, you'd probably have killed him already. You and I know that his kindness has melted some of the coldness in you. Well, if you're still not ready to let go of your current view of him as your target, even if you can agree that he's a kind person and also since tracking your targets is all you've known most of your life, then I ask that you will at least be more tolerant of him when he has a mishap or incident. I think he'll be someone important to you, so I'd like you to at least open your heart up to him just a little at a time."

Listening to his words, Yami looks up at Rich with the soft, cute red eyes of a little girl. Rich, taken aback at first by the depth of the emotion contained in Yami's eyes that seemed to come from nowhere, walks to Yami and wraps his arms around her, hugging the girl who never really got a chance to be and grow as a girl. After a few priceless moments of time, Rich let's go and stands back to look at Yami.

Yami's expression returns to normal as Rich says, "Mikan is probably waiting for you Yami, let's go downstairs now before anyone gets the wrong idea."

Rich walks to the door and opens it for her. Yami walks through the opened door and turning to look at Rich, says, "Thank you."

Just as soon as everyone was back in the living room, the doorbell rang and Rito went to open the front door for the unexpected guests. To Rito's surprise, Nurse Mikado was at his door alongside with Oshizu, who wasn't in her body for some reason.

"Nurse Mikado! What are you doing here? Come in, come in," exclaims Rito as he attempts to keep his eyes focused on her face and not her bust.

"Is Princess Lala here?" Mikado asks Rito as she ignores his rambling of questions.

"Yes, in the living room," says Rito.

The two guests head into the living room and Rito closes the front door and follows them into the living room.

"Princess, I believe we have a problem," says Mikado as she explains, "Oshizu was attacked last night, and her prosthetic body was completely destroyed. I believe her attacker was an Abskura."

As if glass shattered, Lala, Yami, and Rich stand motionless by just the sound of the name of that horror. The trio all instantly knew exactly how dangerous an Abskura is, thanks to their shared memories.

After Mikado and Oshizu explained the events of last night in detail to the group, Yami says, "So, this is no doubt the killer I've been trying to catch. Where can I find it? It must be terminated as soon as possible."

"Wait Yami, you can't just slice it like you normally do. The creature grows by absorbing any organic organism it comes in contact with. The Abskura can absorb not just an organism's body, but it can also assimilate the organism's thoughts, therefore increasing both its intelligence and physique," explains Mikado.

Rich directs his gaze at Lala and sees her pale, frightened facial expression. Lala looks directly at Mikado and asks, "How serious is it?"

"Well. It's hard to know for sure, but it looks like the Abskura has absorbed several humans at the most and many animals. Don't worry though Princess Lala, it's not anything near the strength of the ones your father faced," explains Mikado.

Rito interjects, "Umm… I'm a little lost here. What's going on?"

Lala turns to face Rito and Mikan and explains, "During the last years of the Galaxy Unification Wars, a race of sentient beings that are extinct today, decided to create a biological organism weapon to use against my father's armies, so they made the Abskura. They had planned to send the Abskura in special pods that they would've shot at planets that were controlled by my father. Once deployed, the Abskura were designed to first seek victims with high intellectual skill and improved physique in order to become superior and ultimate destroy all the life on a target planet. Only a few pods were ever sent out and no one knew why more weren't sent against him. When my father reached the planet, where the atrocities had been created and where the monster's creators were supposed to launch the Abskura from, he discovered that nothing was left alive on the planet except for a multitude of Abskura. It seemed the creators of the Abskura had perished at the hands of their own creation. My father knew he would've had no chance if he'd decided to fight the beasts on the planet surface. So, my dad instead ordered the fleet to destroy the planet with an orbital barrage. After assessing the threat of theses monsters, my dad issued a galaxy wide hunt to reward anyone who killed an Abskura."

Rito, taking everything Lala had said and wrapping his mind around it, says, "So, a monster escaped, no big deal. Just one question though, how do we kill it?"  
Mikado explains, "We could use a blaster gun on the beast. That should work as long as it hasn't formed a blaster resistant shell or any other blaster-proof protective barrier."

Everyone in the living room gathered close and began to discuss possible ways to draw out the monster as well as giving suggestions on how to go about destroying the Abskura.

Due to all the commotion in the living room, Rich excuses himself for a moment and goes upstairs alone. Quietly opening the door to Lala's room, Rich wanders into her room. Rich walks up to the console in the corner of the room and types in the correct data value. Rich watches the materialization pad as an injector from the virtual space that is filled with a poison lethal to Abskura materializes.

_Good thing Lala had focused on her studies of the war that day, _thinks Rich as he reflects upon what was recorded in Lala's memories that are ingrained in his head thanks to her device. Rich picks up the injector and turns off the console. Leaving Lala's room behind him, Rich walks back downstairs, with the injector in his pocket.


	6. Chapter 5:Decisions

Disclaimer: I don't own To Love Ru or have an affiliation with its makers. This story is for

Fan-based entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 5: Decisions

Mikado, Mikan, Lala, Rito, Oshizu, Yami, and Rich continue their discussion on a plan of attack.

"Can't we ask your father for help," asks Rito. The urgency of the situation is lost on him. Even Lala's father would rather destroy the Earth than fight an Abskura.

"No Rito," says Yami.

Yami, glancing at Mikan and all the other friendly faces in the room, thinks, _even if I should die, I must kill this creature for the sake of my friends!_

"Wait, since when have you been calling me by my first name Yami?" questions Rito.

Before, Yami could respond Mikado-Sensei told them to save that conversation for later.

"Since the creature has only been attacking at night, it must not realize that it's strong enough to attack humans in the day," says Mikado. "Therefore we must make a move tonight," explains Mikado.

"Oshizu claims that it is currently residing in what's left of the old burnt building, next to the school," says Mikado.

"Then let's go, now," exclaims Rich.

"I just said that it's stronger than any..." says Mikado.

Interrupting her, Rich crosses his arms and says, "I told Yami that I would help her and furthermore, if we just sit here and waste time everyone will be consumed by that thing. There is nothing that you can say to change my mind on this matter."

"Rich," Yami whispers under her breath. She can respect Rich's bold thinking and understands his willingness to risk his life. Even she herself was willing to risk her life for her friends here.

"I suggest that we kill the beast with those high-yield plasma blasters of yours, Mikado-Sensei. All in favor raise your hand," says Rich to the rest of the group.

Yami, Lala, Rich and Rito all raise their hands; therefore the plasma-gun plan had won the majority vote.

But, since there were only three plasma blasters, the group decided on who should go. Lala insisted to Rito that he stay here, and after a few minutes of argument Rito caved to her demand. Yami and Rito both told Mikan that she wasn't going. Mikado decided to not go, but instead to begin thinking of a backup plan should the plasma guns fail to harm the beast. Well, since Yami, Lala, Rich and Oshizu were the only ones left, it was decided that they all should go.

"Fine, but try not to die you guys," exclaims Mikado as she hands them guns.

"Where did you…" Lala begins to ask Mikado.

Mikado interrupts saying, "don't ask."

"Okay," says Lala, not really in the mood to push the question.

As soon as they were ready, Yami, Lala, Rich and Oshizu leave the Yuuki Household. After a short walk, the group arrives at the site of the burnt building. The sun was beginning to set, so the group had to hurry and finish the deed.

"Okay, Oshizu go scout ahead and tell us where it is. Don't worry, it can't hurt you as you are," says Rich.

The group goes inside and begins to walk around looking for the beast.

"Rich," Yami begins a conversation, "be careful, we don't know exactly what this thing is capable of."

"Careful? Why? Are you afraid Yami? Don't you get soft on me now," says Rich teasingly.

"Shut up," responds Yami.

"Knock it off you two," says Lala, we've got to be serious here.

"Pfft, you're one to talk," says Rich, joking playfully.

Rich says, "Anyways, I would but…"

Just then, the wood floor in front of him shatters, spraying splintered shards everywhere. Numerous mutilated tentacles shoot out from the hole in the floor to attack them. No time for hesitation, they all begin firing their weapons at the approaching tentacles. Zizzz, Ziizzz, Ziizzzz, Zizz…plasma shoots across the room… Splattt! Thump, Thud, Thump…. Severed tentacle flesh splatters across the room and littered the hallway. The walls become coated in the beast's blood. As quickly as they came, the remaining tentacles disappear, retreating back into the darkness under the floorboards.

"Where are you Oshizu?" Lala yells loudly.

Oshizu's head pokes out of the left wall; she looks at Yami, Lala and Rich, standing in the hallway with their weapons drawn.

Oshizu stunned in fright, barely manages to yell, "It's coming down the hall to you guys, watch out!"

Slowly, the Abskura moves from the darkness and into the fading sunlight, pouring into the hall from holes in the building walls. The three friends begin to fire on the hideous flesh consuming monster. Plasma races down the hallway and seers burn marks into the beast's flesh, but the beast keeps coming towards them. Just as soon as the beast is wounded, its wounds regenerate.

"Ugh! The weapons aren't having an effect Rich! Get back," yells Yami frustrated.

"We're not even slowing it down," says Lala as she moves back to avoid tentacles.

"What do we do now Lala?" asks Yami urgently.

"We can't touch that thing! We can at least fight to the end though," says Yami.

"Well, I sure had fun getting to know you guys," says Rich as he jumps and shoots a tentacle from the floor.

"Could you two joke later?" says Lala determined on defending her special Rito's planet.

Sweating, Rich yells, "Hey, Lala! Yami! Move back, it is getting closer!"

The two girls jump back, yet Rich doesn't move with them and instead throws his blaster at the beast.

"Rich, what are…," questions Yami as she stops mid-sentence.

The blaster whines loudly as it flies towards the beast.

Yami thinks, _Rich must have set it to overload. That won't be enough, why'd he do something so stupid?!_

"Rich, that isn't powerful enough to destroy the Abskura," says Yami.

"I know, Yami," says Rich.

"What are you thinking then," asks Yami.

The beast growls at the three, distracting Yami's attention on Rich.

Rich takes out the injector from his pocket and begins to run towards the monster. Yami suddenly realizes Rich is running towards the beast and is about to grab him back with her hair when the flying blaster explodes. The beast roars in pain from the plasma blast as a blinding light temporarily blinds everyone who was looking at the blast.

Rich, with his eyes closed runs at the beast, ready to use the injector.

The closer he gets to the monster, thoughts race through his head. _Yuck, it smells even worse than it looks. When this is all over, I hope that Yami will unchain all the light in her heart that's been bound in chains of darkness. Haha, I should be worried about myself shouldn't I? _

The boy jumps, closing the distance between him and the monster.

The effect of the blinding light fade and sight returns to Yami. Looking down the wrecked hall she sees the monster begin to regain its sight and then notices Rich in the air holding some tube with liquid in his hand.

Rich thrusts the injector into his arm, knowing in a few moments his body will crash into the Abskura.

Yami watches shocked, and notices as Rich smiles.

Smiling, the boy recalls a memory that he thought was forgotten. The memory speeds through his mind, _I was walking down the street of the Japanese city and I thought that_ _this city was nothing like Los Angeles, but I liked it. _

Smack! Rich collides into the Abskura.

"Rich," yells Yami.

She watches as he is absorbed into the beast's body, his head is turned to face her. With a peaceful smile on his face, he keeps looking at her as if to give her one final message.

…_Live life…, _thinks Yami. _Is that what he wanted to tell me?_

His body disappears beneath the hideous monster's flesh leaving no trace that a boy named Rich ever existed.

A single tear, flows down her cheek as she looks at the beast in anger. It killed her new friend, right in front of her. She turned her hair to blades, but before she could charge forward the beast's skin began to bubble like sugar in a microwave. Not moving, Yami just stares as the beast dissolves groaning in pain with its hideous voice.

"Ittt pooii..sssoooonnnedd ussss…," growls the creature, as it finally gains superior intelligence from absorbing the mind of the person that sealed its demise.

As Lala and Yami watch, the creature continues to dissolve until only a puddle of ooze on the floor is left. The tear falls off Yami's cheek and hits the floor of the quiet hall. Yami turns to look at Lala, who just stands with her mouth open in disbelief. Disbelief, that someone could have been that reckless with their life.

"Princess," says Yami emotionlessly. Yami touches Lala's arm causing her to stir from her shock.

"Why did he do that! Why! That was to only be used as a last resort! It wasn't even proven to work." yells Lala loudly. Lala realizes that he could've only gotten a hold of the injector with her equipment.

"Now I can't invite him to me and Rito's wedding! Stupid Rich," exclaims Lala.

"I think Rich would want us to live life not questioning his reasons, but would want us to keep moving forward in our lives," says Yami.

Lala stands in silence for a moment and then nods her head.

The two girls begin walking out of the building to where a frightened Oshizu was waiting.

"Let's go home," says Lala to her two friends as the sun sets and night begins. The girls walked home in a rather solemn mood that night. When the girls arrived home, they told the group that the memory device had finally worked and Rich remembered that his flight to return home was tonight, so he was sorry that he couldn't say goodbye. Soon, everything was pretty much back to normal.

Night once again falls on the busy city as Yami watches, while pondering about life.

_It's like nothing ever happened_, a girl in a black outfit with long blonde hair thinks to herself as she stands on a rooftop and overlooks a busy city. _It was better that we didn't tell them the truth. They shouldn't know such tragedy exists in this world. After all, my friends are always so happy all the time._

The girl smiles as she thinks of her friends. A thought tickles her mind; _can I consider Yuuki Rito, my friend?_ _Maybe… _

Yami jumps up onto a metal pole and looks out again at the lights, reflecting on the thought that this could've been all lost if it weren't for him.

Yami thinks, _How long has it been since I came to this planet? Can I… really stay here forever?_

Author's note: The story ends here, at the beginning of chapter one of the To Love Ru Darkness Manga. Hope you enjoyed. This was my first writing piece, so I hope I improved as the story progress. Even if it is just a little. Well, Alantyler8, signing off.


	7. Epilogue Of Sorts(Explaining)

Those Who Lurk in the Background

**The following events occur prior to the prologue.**

Nemesis and Mea travel through space on their ship. The two cunning ladies have a little package for the former assassin, the Golden Darkness. Master and slave, the duo, approach Earth.

"Haha, Mea. This little thing will help your sister in discovering her true self," exclaimed Nemesis.

Master Nemesis rubs the white pod in the cargo bay of her ship. It took a lot of hard work for her to obtain the pod, but her real prize is the Golden Darkness.

Mea, Nemesis's slave and apprentice, watching her master, asks, "Master, what's in the pod?"

Nemesis smiles and looks at the dutiful Mea and replies to her question.

"It's just a beast feared across the galaxy, that consumes all its enemies.,, hehe! Just the thought of it swallowing everything turns me on!" "It's just like the consuming darkness inside the one we seek!"

Mea says, "If we have this beast, why do we need the Golden Darkness?"

"Haha, unfortunately this beast can't be controlled, but it should bring the darkness out of our target," Nemesis replies.

"Don't worry, the Golden Darkness won't be killed by this beast, she'll be forced to leave the planet or she'll awaken the darkness inside her... hehe, either way, she'll soon be joining us," says Nemesis.

Mea's eyes glisten in excitement and eagerness.. "Well, we should be arriving at Earth now Master," Mea says.

"Excellent, Mea," says Nemesis. "Soon, she will be with us… soon."

**The following events take place after the beast was defeated and before the first episode of To Love Ru Darkness. **

Mea exclaims, "Master! The beast was defeated by Rich, but he was killed too."

"That meddling human, his defiance infuriates me! Though, I feel that something was off about him, from your description of his thoughts, when you read his mind while he was sleeping on the couch. You said his memories seemed just superficial."

Nemesis continues and says, "Mea, I want you to go to where he lived and find out all you can about him."

"Yes master, I already hacked into the internet and found information by facial profile, I'll go right now to California," replies Mea.

Mea leaves Japan and travels to America. Arriving in Los Angeles, she soon is breaking into Rich's house; it's a small one story home that looks like any other home.

The house looks like it is being lived in, yet she couldn't find anybody there. She was just about to leave when she noticed a panel on the floor.

"Hmm, what's this?" says Mea as she lifts up the panel, and walks into the basement to find a steel door with a security panel next to it. Mea hacks into the system and opens the door to a multi-leveled laboratory and begins to explore.

"What is this? Hello?" says Mea playfully. Mea walks into a room and sees a purple haired woman sitting at a table with her back facing Mea. Mea sends her braided hair out to read the woman's mind.

SHOOSH… Grab…

Her hair is stopped by a man she knows, he holds it in his hand and speaks to her.

"I know that you weren't going to try and hurt my dear friend Kotomi, cause I couldn't forgive that."

Kotomi turns around, shocked at the disturbance that is now keeping her from her work. Kotomi says, " Rich… what's going on?"

"Nothing Miss Ichinose, I'm just dealing with this uninvited guest, but I should be fine. You can go back to your parallel universe research," exclaims Rich.

"Mea, my biodrone transmitted information about you. Come I'll explain," says Rich.

Rich leads the dumbfounded Mea into another room and begins to monologize.

"You see, you can't read my mind, so don't even try. I'm Rich, an expert on biotechnology and dimensional travel. Unfortunately, I still can't be in two places at once, so I make copies of me programmed to transmit all data to my computer mainframe. Yet don't get excited, I deleted all the data transmitted from the copy you affiliated with. There was just too much sensitive information to leave accessible. So, I don't know what you have to do with this Yami, but I do know that you and she are alike. Whatever your plans may be, I don't plan on getting involved any further, so you can go tell the person you serve that," Rich explains while pushing a button on the wall to dispense food for the two of them.

"Mea, eat and take some food to go for your journey back. I don't wish to fight you, and I doubt you can fight someone like me. If you ever threaten this planet's existence, I will foil your work. On that note, goodbye."

Mea looks at Rich confused, everything was happening so fast. Rich pushes another button and she is suddenly encased in a capsule that is then propelled through a tunnel that opened in the ceiling. Being unable to break out of her temporary cell, the capsule is shot out of the tunnel and is propelled by thrusters that take her away from California over the ocean, and all the way back to Japan.

Rich smiles as he thinks of what Mea's facial expression is like right now. For Rich, being able to travel and shift through dimensions is his great power that none can really compare. Rich sighs, and takes a drink. "It's back to work from here," he says. "Kotomi can help me understand my gift better, plus she gorgeous in and out, so I'm gonna stay in this universe a while longer. Yep that's what I'll do." Rich mutters to himself.


End file.
